A well-guarded secret is about to be exposed! Hold on to your hats, folks!
The postal service has "flat rate" boxes!
Whatever you can stuff into one of these boxes, no matter how much it weighs, goes for $8!
The boxes come in two sizes: 12 x 3.5 x 13.5 and 11 x 8.5 x 5.5. (I use the first one because it's a good fit for magazines. This size also holds 12 cans of soup, stew, pasta, etc. Yup….still $8!)
Not only is the postage a great price, but the postal service has these boxes for FREE! Can you believe it? AND……(if you act within the next 30 minutes….), they'll ship a carton of them to your home - - ALSO for free!
Order here (even if it says "buy," the stuff is free.)
You'll need the big address labels and a customs form, too. Here are links to order these:
When packing, make sure the box is firmly packed. Use newspapers, etc. to fill in all the vacant areas. Otherwise, the contents will be squashed/broken. (Don't use popped popcorn; it attracts critters!). Tape the box WELL on all three dimensions. The sticky stuff on the boxes is nowhere near strong enough to take the box all the way to your Marine, especially if the box is bowing out because it has so much stuff inside!!
Also.......letters from them (overseas) to you require no postage.
Semper Fi!